11 Killed in Two Midnight Crashes Along Eldoret-Nakuru Highway

At least 11 people lost their lives in two separate early-morning collisions along the Eldoret-Nakuru Highway on Saturday, October 31, 2026, underlining the extreme hazards associated with night-time travel on Kenya's major transit corridors.

The fatalities occurred in dual crashes along the stretch connecting Nakuru and Uasin Gishu counties, leaving several passengers hospitalized with serious injuries and intensifying calls for stricter enforcement on late-night highway traffic.

In the first incident, six people died on the spot at around midnight in the Koriomat area of Uasin Gishu County. The crash involved a Mercedes-Benz Actros truck, a Toyota Hiace matatu belonging to North Rift Sacco, and a Toyota Succeed.

Police reported that the truck was travelling from Nakuru towards Eldoret when its driver swerved to the right to avoid another vehicle. The truck rammed into the Toyota Succeed before colliding with the matatu, which had 10 passengers on board.

The impact forced both the matatu and the Toyota Succeed into a roadside ditch. The matatu driver, identified as Shabaan Hassan Wanga, and five female passengers died instantly.

Emergency teams rushed the surviving injured passengers to hospitals across Uasin Gishu County. Police moved the six bodies to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) mortuary for postmortem examinations and towed the wreckage to Burnt Forest Police Station for inspection.

Barely 20 minutes later, at around 12:20 am, a second head-on collision occurred further down the highway at Kondoo, near Timboroa. A 14-seater matatu travelling from Eldoret to Nakuru collided directly with a trailer ferrying ballast.

Five occupants of the matatu were killed instantly in the Kondoo crash. Emergency responders assisted several other injured passengers, who were transported to nearby health facilities for urgent treatment.

Images from the Kondoo scene showed the matatu completely wrecked, featuring broken windows, a shattered windscreen, damaged tyres, and crushed seats. Police officers assessed the site as investigations into the exact cause of the second collision began.

The Saturday morning tragedies follow another fatal accident on Thursday, October 29, along Kangundo Road in Nairobi. In that incident, a Forward Sacco matatu overturned at Umoja Junction at around 10:00 pm while taking commuters home, killing one person and injuring several others who were trapped under the vehicle.

Transport officials point to reckless overtaking, speeding, and drunk driving as key causes of national crashes. Poorly maintained vehicles with worn tyres or faulty brakes, alongside poorly lit roads, bad signage, and potholes, further elevate the risk of travelling at night.

The tragic weekend comes shortly after the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) urged the government on Sunday, October 25, to declare road accidents a national disaster.

According to NTSA statistics, road crashes kill more than 5,000 people each year and involve roughly 20,000 incidents that strain healthcare services and disrupt economic output.

The Authority explained that classifying road accidents as a national disaster would unlock direct state funding, bolster joint police enforcement, and set enforceable safety targets for the National Police Service, transport agencies, health institutions, and county authorities.